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[castoredux]

Hey, listen up. I know there's some shit goin' on around here, but I'm lookin' for someone. Anybody good at findin' people?

[Nevermind that the 'shit' going on around here is why he needs to find her.]

Comments

[castoredux]

I know. I just couldn't live with it then. [A boy's mother had been dead, and it had been a part of him that'd killed her. It was devastating, knowing it could just be swept under the carpet, but he'd come to terms with it, recognized the necessity of it.

It hadn't made it much easier to deal with for a while, but he understood why it had to happen that way.]

I missed him bein' in the room next door, but he don't need to know that.

[He just didn't acknowledge her mentioning he'd matured. He'd never known what to do with compliments and getting one from her was even more flustering. It just meant he picked up the hammer again and continued on. They were on a mission to find food, after all.]

[bufus]

I suppose I can keep that revelation between the two of us then should he ever arrive here. [ Maybe. No promises though. She offers him a little smile and a quick glance. ]

I'm...also sorry for what transpired and that I never came myself.

[castoredux]

Heh. Appreciate it.

[He shook his head, looking over again.]

I needed space, Mitsuru. There's nothin' to apologize for.

[bufus]

I am capable of being generous at times. [ Though most of the time she supposed she was accurate to her Ice Empress demeanor. ]

That was not the only reason I left you be.

[castoredux]

I guess that makes two of us. [They both lived up to their reputations, after all.]

...no?

[bufus]

[ She let out a tiny sigh and returned to looking down. ] No. It was your own choice to leave us. [ And, truth be told, she had felt a bit abandoned. Not that she was quite ready to admit to that. ] Had we forced you back you would not have given it your all. Someone like that would have only been a liability.

[castoredux]

[That...was actually a better answer than the one he was expecting. He takes a breath and nods.]

You're not wrong. Besides I was...doin' a lot to make sure I couldn't, so...it's in the past, though, right? I'm here. Now. That's not stoppin'.

[bufus]

The past...[ he wasn't wrong, they were here now and there was nothing that could change what happened there. ] You're right. It's...I'm glad we've gotten a chance to speak about this. [ Even if it was a bit awkward. ] Though...[ she's not quite certain why she feels just a bit strange now. She shakes her head and changes the subject. ] weren't we look for food?

[castoredux]

[He nodded in response. He was glad they'd talked, too. Betsy may have had a point about that. He felt like they were...closer, somehow, and hated himself a little bit for not letting her in sooner. She was the most beautiful and graceful girl he'd never met, a complete antithesis to him, but she was still his friend, even if his rough edges probably chafed.]

We're headin' there. Passed the place in the cab on the way in. They've got flatbread sandwiches.

[bufus]

[ She blushed slightly and then, very hesitantly, spoke: ] Flatbread sandwiches? I...assume you do not eat them with silverware? Minato took me to the Wild-Duck Burger and that was the case there.

[castoredux]

Uh...no. They're made so you can work and eat at the same time, it's why a lot of street vendors sell 'em.

[Says the guy who seems to know some food trivia. It probably comes from reading cooking magazines and watching cooking shows.]

You want meat in yours or not? I'll take care of orderin'.

[bufus]

I see! What a wonderful way to avoid wasting time. [ Because taking a long lunch could indeed waste a considerable amount of time. She considered the question for a moment and then looked at him very seriously. ]

I'll defer to your judgement here, Shinjiro. It appears you're the expert here.

[castoredux]

Hey, eatin' ain't wastin' time. Food's important. [And that's why he's going to make sure she's eating.] What the hell did you guys eat while I was gone?

[He shook his head as they neared the stall, taking a moment to look over the ingredients before ordering two with prosciutto, spinach, and mozzarella. He's just not going to ask many questions about the variety of food you could find in this place.

The vendor is clearly a master, pouring pattern across a heated stone platter, all the works. While the man worked, Shinji deposited a handful of coins from his pocket into the vendor's payment platter and the vendor nodded his thanks.

while they waited, he stepped them off to the side so other customers could browse, looking over to Mitsuru again.]

You really never stopped at the strip mall? Not even once?

[bufus]

We all had different things. I think Iori lived off of instant ramen. [ She's not joking. She wishes she were, but she's not.

She shook her head, a bit confused that he seemed surprised. ]

No. We hardly had time for such things while we were out.

[castoredux]

[He groaned at that, breathing a sigh.]

Well...we got time, here.

[bufus]

[ She blushes and looks away. ] Time for what precisely?

[castoredux]

[Their food was finished and he moved to retrieve it. bringing over their wrapped flatbread sandwiches, offering one to her.]

To not just do work. [He raised his own sandwich, pulling down the paper enough to be able to take a bite.] Ain't any special rules, by the way. Just dig in.

[bufus]

There's quite a lot of work to do though. [ She watched him carefully and then nodded. ] O-okay. I will...just dig in then. [ Yup, that sounded foreign coming from her. She did however begin to unwrap it in a rather dainty manner before taking a hesitant bite. ]

[castoredux]

Sure, but it doesn't have to be all work. That's bad for you.

[He watched her watching him, watched her carefully and delicately unwrap her sandwich, and smiled slightly as he did. He'd seen her as many things before: powerful, collected, commanding, effortlessly graceful and refined, but...not cute, not before this moment.

It was a nice change.]

You're doin' great.

[bufus]

I assume you, I am more than capable of managing quite the work load.

[ After her response she returned to taking bites of the sandwich. It wasn't bad, that's for sure, but she did find it rather embarrassing to just be standing here holding it. Perhaps it would be a more enjoyable experience if they had found a table. She cast a glance his way, unaware of the bit of sauce on the side of her mouth, and frowned. ]

I don't need patronizing.

[castoredux]

[He wasn't patronizing her, but he understood how she could see it that way. Being pretty practiced at glaring at people, he was able to shove down his smile, aided by looking down at his free hand to sort out a napkin before reaching out and wiping the sauce from her mouth.

He didn't waste any time looking at her afterward, but instead turned toward some of the tables nearby, pulling out one chair before taking a seat in another.]

"Managin'" is great, but you don't have to do it alone.

[bufus]

[ The fact that he actually wiped the sauce from her mouth practically caused Mitsuru's entire face to turn bright red. Had she really had sauce on her mouth? Had he really just done that? Why was her face burning? She quickly took the seat he'd pulled out and tried to duck her head down in the hopes he wouldn't notice how embarrassed she currently was. ]

I-I know that. [ Was she stumbling over her words? This was getting more embarrassing by the moment. ]

[castoredux]

You sure about that?

[He's not actually sure what possessed him to violate Mitsuru's personal space that way, why he'd thought it was fine or why he'd thought it would go well once he'd done it. Instead, he decided to give her some of that work to focus on so that this didn't get more awkward than it clearly already was.]

Have your scans turned up anything useful?

[bufus]

What is that supposed to mean? [ She frowned and then took another bite of her sandwich. She waited until she was completely finished chewing and then reached for a napkin to make sure there was nothing on her face before she said anything further. Her face was still a light shade of pink and for some reason she couldn't bring herself to look over at him. Why was that? ]

I've isolated several areas with increased monster activity.

[castoredux]

I think you know what it means.

[At the moment it meant he'd made things awkward and they needed to change the subject. He was nearly finished with his own sandwich, and navigating the ends of the breading took his eyes off of her, which wasn't a bad thing.]

"Increased" huh? Compared to what?